Bullshit

Month: March 2016

This book could be reviewed with a simple sentence… “Effect real change with real magic”, and that wouldn’t be a lie.

I prefer to buy hardback books but thats not always possible and sometimes not very practicable either. I’m thinking of the 800+ page Foundations of Practical Sorcery. A great book but not easy to read in bed, let alone lug around on my travel’s. I wish I’d bought the 7 paperback volumes instead.

The Sorcerers Secrets is a slim paperback that has accompanied me on several trips (224 pages). It fall’s at the other end of the spectrum to the limited edition books I buy. Whereas I try to keep those in good condition this is a volume that is full of post it notes, highlighter marks and notes scribbled in the margin. Its a loved but not abused book. An affordable working class paperback to the more stuffy (and sometimes pretentious) upper class hardbacks.

Jason has a knack for distilling complex systems down to the bare essentials. To give the reader a simple, straightforward and understandable approach to effecting change around them. The results though are far from simple. He has managed to include in the book some very powerful workings that won’t scare away the timid magician who is unsure of themselves nor is this a book just for beginners. The lessons build upon one another to produce a powerful system.

When asked by people where to start in magic, which is surprisingly often considering I’m quite new to the serious study of magic, Jason is the first person I recommend, often the only person I recommend. Recently a devoutly religious co-worker in Egypt asked me about magic and Jason was the only person I recommended. He was worried about getting involved with something counter to his Coptic faith but at the same time still very interested to learn more. As I said before, this is not just a beginners book, it would be perfect for ‘armchair magicians’ who have no regular practice and even experienced Mage’s can learn something new from this book.

I’ve not read this yet but this was the first books I purchased from Scarlet Imprint and I still fondle this pair of books like the day I first received them. The typography is simply wonderful. Two colour printing on beautiful heavy white paper. Its an expensive pair of books but ohh so beautiful.

I just want to share some pictures of these and show why I think extremely highly of Scarlet Imprint’s work.

I love this Tarot deck! I don’t remember how I came across it but once I saw the pictures on Wendrich Art House’s Web site I had to have a set. The colours of the cards just mesmerised me and put me into a trance… I wanted this deck badly. When it finally arrived I was not disappointed. The cards are large 95mm by 135mm tall with lots of detail in each card. The surface finish is very matt and the back’s are a plain green. Card stock is sturdy but not too thick. The cards have already had quite a bit of abuse at my hands and are holding up well. This deck comes with two Temperance keys (pic the one that suits you best) and a card with a prayer to HRU.

I find dealing with these cards to be quite rewarding. The energy is balanced and the readings are becoming more detailed and natural as I become more familiar with the deck. This is not a wishy washy New Age deck though. I find it strong but the energies balanced. It doesn’t sugar coat problems unlike the Thoth deck which I also use, it doesn’t overpower me or try to dominate me. My niece also took a strong liking to this deck and I had to buy her a set as well.

There is also a large set of Tarot keys available from Wendrich Art House. This is an A5 sized set of Tarot trumps for meditation or ritual use. According to the Web site there is a special book that comes with this but I’m unsure if its the same as the book below as I have not received these yet.
The Book
The book Tarot (Golden Dawn Temple Deck Meditation Deck) is available from LuLu. I’m a bit of a fan of Nick’s work, he certainly get’s more than the occasional email from me. The book is 95 pages long and written by Nick and Harry.

The book is up to the surprisingly high LuLu standard. Tightly glued paperback with heavy white paper (feels of better quality than Ritual Offerings and has not yellowed). Its already taken a battering at my hands and is often thrown in the bottom of my bag on my jaunts to various rigs.

This is not an in-depth book on the study of the Tarot but at the same time it is a practical book to allow you to study the Tarot in depth. An essential accompaniment to the Golden Dawn Temple Tarot.

This is probably one of the most important books I have in my small library. Until I read this I thought the idea of giving offerings was at best ‘quaint’ and at worst something done by people trying to gain the favour of darker spirits and entities.

Several of the essay’s really stood out to me and I immediately started to make regular offerings, particularly to my ancestors. The change in the environment around me was obvious. From struggling to make things work for me to life becoming a bit easier.

Although my interest in the occult span’s over 30 years, after some teenage experiments went badly wrong I gave it all up in fear. The last deck of Tarot cards being dumped in Loch Leven around 1992. My interest was rekindled a few years back and I’m now trying to make up for the lost 25 years of practice.

Of the hundred or so books I’ve bought in the past six months none has been more important than this single book. The bottom line is make offerings and make them regularly. There is no free ride and if you want the spirits to work for you, you need to give them the sustenance to perform the work.

An extremely important work that should be in everybody’s library.

The Bad..

The book shipped to me in a plastic padded USPS envelope. Shipping to the Philippines takes from 5 to 10 days but then the parcel’s will sit in a customs shed or Post Office store for up to 3 months. It is a third would country, there is quite a bit of corruption (when you have to deal with the customs) but mostly the infrastructure can’t support the volume of goods arriving in the country. Staffing level’s are properly still at the 1970’s despite all the online shopping and relatives overseas sending goods home. When I received the book it was bashed up as it had virtually no protection. The leather spine is torn and crushed. I wrote to Frank and he offered a replacement, a six weeks later I wrote again. Six weeks later I wrote again and he asked for my address, several weeks after that I offered to compensate him for his generous offer as I felt it was unfair and I should offer something for the replacement book. Over six months have past and I’ve heard no more from Frank. Obviously, I gave up on this and will not buy anymore books from Nephilim Press.

The book is listed as limited to 900 copies but the sticker on the inside say’s 1000. To lazy to print new stickers? Not what you’d expect for a $65 book. Finally, the paper quality is poor. It is a rough dirty white and looks like it is not archival quality paper. There is sign’s of the edges yellowing already. Finally, the lettering on the spine of the book is already wearing off after very light use.